Terra Patris: hymn tune in Tonic Solfa
Terra Patris, the hymn tune by Franklin L. Sheppard, in Tonic Solfa (doh is Eb): the solfa line by line, staff notation and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- s, to d' (B♭ to E♭)
- Metre
- 6.6.8.6 — Short Metre (S.M.)
- Music
- Franklin L. Sheppard
- Also called
- Terra Beata
Melody from the Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary (CCEH, public domain); tune TERRA PATRIS by Franklin L. Sheppard (1852–1930). Sources and licences.
The solfa
| dr | m-s-m-r- | d-----rm |
| f-l-s-m- | r-----l- |
| s-m-m-rd | m-r-d-s,- |
| drm-s-rm | d-----s- |
| d'-s-l-t- | d'-----d't |
| l-d'-t-l- | s-----l- |
| s-m-m-rd | m-r-d-s,- |
| drm-s-rm | d----- |
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, easy to copy into your own notes or a WhatsApp message to the choir.
Doh is Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
About the tune
- Music (1915): Franklin L. Sheppard (1852–1930)
Metre: 6.6.8.6 — Short Metre (S.M.). Hymns on this site in the same metre: Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston), Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Dennis), Breathe on Me, Breath of God, Lord Jesus Think on Me, The Advent of Our God, Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here, We Know Thee Who Thou Art, Within the Father's House.
Melody from the Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary (CCEH, public domain); tune TERRA PATRIS by Franklin L. Sheppard (1852–1930). The CCEH gives its tunes as four-part scores; this page has the melody only, read from its MIDI file and checked against its incipit, and NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from the notes. It has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
Questions about Terra Patris
What is the doh of Terra Patris?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does Terra Patris start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
What words can be sung to Terra Patris?
Terra Patris is in the metre 6.6.8.6 — Short Metre (S.M.): lines of 6, 6, 8, 6 syllables. Words written in the same metre fit it, such as Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston), Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Dennis), Breathe on Me, Breath of God; check where the stresses fall before you sing them together.
Is Terra Patris in the public domain?
Yes. Franklin L. Sheppard died in 1930; the tune was first published in 1915. Everyone named died before 1955 and it was published before 1929, so the tune is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements of it can still be under copyright.